Banpu's Energy on Board, Motivates University Students to Design Board Games that Manage Global Energy in Creative and Sustainable Ways

General News Thursday November 26, 2020 14:23 —PRESS RELEASE LOCAL

Banpu's Energy on Board, Motivates University Students to Design Board Games that Manage Global Energy in Creative and Sustainable Ways

Banpu Public Company Limited, an international versatile energy provider, updates the progress of Energy on Board by BANPU B-Sports Thailand, a program that allows young generations to showcase their creativity and innovative skills through a board game design contest on the "energy sustainability" theme. Banpu's management and employees have given advice and inspired the students throughout the program.

Mrs. Udomlux Olarn, Head of Corporate Communications at Banpu Public Company Limited, said "Under the difficult circumstance regarding the spread of COVID-19 this year, it could not stop our commitment to giving opportunities for the new generation to learn and develop their potential. This year, Banpu aims to create more understanding about energy among young generations. Therefore, we decided to come up with a board game design contest on the topic of "energy sustainability," which is the key purpose of Banpu in doing business, consisting of affordability, reliability, and eco-friendliness. Students who were qualified to be the 10 finalist teams have brought these concepts to work on as starting ideas to develop their interesting board games. You are all invited to follow more excitement and creativity coming out from these youngsters. Let's see which team will be awarded this year!"

Banpu Public Company Limited and Board Game Night, a board game cast online program attracting the biggest audience in Thailand, have organized BANPU B-Sports Thailand project for the third consecutive year. This year, shortly after Energy on Board program was announced, 28 teams of university students from all over the country submitted their board game design. "This year, we have students from various universities and different majors - arts, humanities, science and technology, architecture and design, and medical students. This shows how board games are gaining popularity among young generations, whether it is brought to play for fun or used as a tool for learning, designing, or project planning. Banpu selected 10 teams of students from 8 universities who passed the qualification to join a board game development and design workshop. They also learned more about energy sustainability from the government bureau that regulates the country's energy affairs as well as from Banpu's executives and employees," added Mrs. Udomlux.

On 16 October, Banpu brought a team of experts to the workshop that enhanced energy sustainability knowledge. This included Dr. Veerapat Kiatfuengfoo, Director Power Policy Bureau, the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) of the Ministry of Energy, who was invited to share his knowledge about Thailand's National Energy Policy as well as energy trends in the future. He also gave insightful knowledge on balancing the proportion of energy generation from various sources to meet the different needs of consumers in each country, allowing them to have a sustainable energy in long term use. The workshop also included a board game design by industry experts.

Ten teams of students who joined the workshop could grasp new ideas to refine their board games, reflecting more interesting stories of energy sustainability and more fun game mechanics. They have then come back to present their prototypes to the judges from Banpu and BGN which happened at a PLAYTEST event on 6 November. Samples of remarkable works included "Recharge," a game that players who take on a private power producer role must meet a rapidly growing demand for electricity from the city's business and industry expansion. Players who manage power plants and businesses in a well-balanced, stable, and most environmentally friendly way will win. "CO-BLOC," a game where players will need to build an ideal smart city through balanced resource allocation and energy management. It began with creating energy generation blocks as a base to supply electricity to the urban facilities blocks. The player who best managed their energy needs and carbon footprint wins. "The Green Empire" a game in which players have to build power plants, infrastructures, and facilities to supply electricity into the city. They also need to manage their limited budget for capital investments while maintaining a balance among electricity demand, power generation capacity, and environmental impact. The game is divided into short and long-term periods. Each period has a different challenge of energy consumption to solve. All players must work together to reach the target of public satisfaction values while making the most of their profits to be the winner. The other seven games not mentioned here equally brought great storytelling and interesting game mechanics as well.

The 10 teams of students have presented their board games to 10 judges from both Banpu led by
Mrs. Udomlux Olarn, Head of Corporate Communications, and board game industry experts led by
Mr. Wattanachai Treedecha, a board game designer and producer of Board Game Night.
The judges had PLAYTEST on the board games to give the scores before the final round comes on 4 December. Next activity, the contestants will go to Rugby School Thailand in Chonburi to see a real Smart Campus and learn more about clean energy and energy technology management that Banpu and Rugby School have developed together. The final round will also happen at the School, and the winner will be revealed with the price to win worth over THB 200,000, including the opportunity to present their board game at the international board game fair in Taiwan. Let's see which team will win!

For more information and updates on the project, please visit BANPU B-Sports Thailand Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/BanpuBSportsThailand

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